A big sigh of relief
Walking away from the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night there was a party atmosphere. It shows just how far Leicester have fallen that it wasn’t a response to winning promotion or an important cup win but merely a home victory against little Bristol City. The result shouldn’t have been a surprise. Sitting 10th in the table, the West Country side’s hopes of a play-off place are diminishing and with only one win in their last five games it was clearly a game that, under normal circumstances, the Foxes should be expected to win. But these, of course, are not normal circumstances.
As the Leicester boss had hinted before the match, some squad rotation was deemed necessary, this game coming so soon after the match in Suffolk. To this end, Hamza Choudhury, Jordan James and Jordan Ayew came in for Ricardo Pereira, Harry Winks and Patson Daka respectfully.
Bristol dominated possession (58% overall) but the Foxes defended with great determination and resolve.
By the 13th minute, the home side had a lead to defend after centre half Ben Nelson headed in a James free kick (the second game in succession that Leicester have scored from a set piece). This lead was doubled when Abdul Fatawu beat the keeper at his near post after a Stephy Mavididi cross was miskicked by Reid.
In the second half, the Foxes were content to soak up pressure trying to hit Bristol on the counter. Except for a couple of typical Abdul Fatawu attempts, though, Leicester didn’t look likely to extend their lead. The game turned on the hour mark when Nelson’s rash challenge gave the away side the opportunity to half the deficit from the penalty spot. Jakub Stolarczk’s save calmed City’s nerves and they saw out the game with ease.
There were some top performances from Leicester players. Nelson, despite giving away the penalty, was top class, James offered great energy in midfield and Fatawu was back to his, sometimes frustrating but also exhilarating, old self. Perhaps the stand-out player, though, was Oliver Skipp who ran himself into the ground doing a great job in protecting his defence.
 Defensive solidity
Leicester’s defence has taken a barrage of criticism this season. Given the abject failure to keep a clean sheet – 30 games going into Tuesday night’s match – this has been entirely justified. This baggage has now been put to bed. In actual fact, despite conceding in Rowett’s first four games in charge, the Leicester back line has looked much more compact than previously. The statistics back that claim up too. Prior to the arrival of the current Foxes’ boss, the team had conceded an average of 1.6 goals per game. In the five games overseen by the current incumbent this has been reduced to just over 1. The difference isn’t great but it is, I think, indicative of the impact the former City player has had.
 Ending the home hoodooÂ
On Tuesday night, too, the Foxes’ ended their poor sequence of home results. Prior to the match, Gary Rowett’s men had performed better away from home. Three draws away from the King Power Stadium against good teams – Stoke, Middlesborough and Ipswich – can be contrasted with the poor display at the King Power Stadium against Norwich. One possible explanation was that the players felt the pressure performing in front of an increasingly discontented crowd. Indeed, Leicester have struggled all season at home losing almost as many matches as they have away from the city, including, prior to Tuesday night, the last four.Â
 I think there is something in the claim that Leicester’s players are nervous in front of their home crowd. It does emphasise the need for Foxes’ fans to leave to a later date their justifiable frustration at the way the club has been run and focus on getting whole-heartedly behind the team. On the other hand, the away performances have been mixed to say the least. There have been no wins under Rowett and in at least one of them – the last time out against Ipswich – only the generosity of the referee preserved the point for the Foxes.Â
Rowett himself put the Norwich defeat down to his failure to freshen the team up after a tough away match a few days before. That explains why he made three changes to the side that took the field against Bristol The changes made seemed to work as Leicester looked much more energised than in the previous home game.Â
The victory is very welcome but only a start to what could still be a nerve-wracking run-in. A similar result against QPR on Saturday remains a necessity.